<p>Hi, I am a current undergradute at Michigan State University and I am somewhat in a dilemma, with a couple of questions. </p>
<p>I am a freshmen here at MSU and have completed 1 semester thus far. I am in the honors college and I am going for a degree in chemical engineering. My first semester here I had a 3.89 overall GPA along with I think 27 AP credits coming in (AP: Jap, Chem, Eng/Comp, Eng/Lit with scores 5 5 4 4 respectively). I now have 40 credits under my belt here at MSU and am a first year freshmen with sophomore status. </p>
<p>Although I am fairly ahead for my class and in the honors college, I still don't know if MSU Honors is as respectable as U of M Engineering from an employers point of view or a graduate schools point of view. I am confident I will be able to transfer in the fall as my GPA meets the 3.5 minimum thus far and I am confident I will be able to carry through this spring semester with at least a 3.7. However, my engineering classes do not transfer to U of M which means I will have to retake them, falling behind. Is it worth leaving my accomplishments and of being so far ahead at MSU to retake engineering courses and fall behind at U of M? </p>
<p>Pros for U of M (IMO)
-Prestige
-Ann Arbor
-Close to Eastern (where a TON of my friends are haha)
-Academic Rigor
-Suits my personality/persona more (hipster)
-Cool campus
-Closer to home</p>
<p>Pros for MSU
-Being in honors college, having advantages others do not (prestige?)
-Beautiful Campus
-Also many close friends here
-Party atmosphere infused with fairly academic atmosphere (once you get past the weeding classes)
-Awesome athletics
-Tom *****ing Izzo </p>
<p>I need some real, unbiased (even though that'd be hard) advice from people that are older/wiser than me. My parents say stay at MSU but I dunno. </p>
<p>Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post! </p>
<p>I’m semi-happy at MSU. I would have had a 4.0 last semester but drunk kids kept me up before one of my finals so I was fatigued during the exam : /. Stuff like that has made me very ****ed off but drunk kids are at all colleges so what can you do (so I hear). I think I’ll be just as happy at UM even though I’ll probably be studying more.</p>
<p>That’s not many classes to retake. You will get a good education at both universities. I know of people who graduated from engineering from MSU and people from Umich and they all got good jobs but that was back in the 1980’s. Good luck on whatever you choose.</p>
<p>As other people have said, it really comes down to happiness. I’d say MSU honors vs. Michigan engineering is comparable in terms of reputation. Plus, it potentially could be difficult to adjust to a whole other school. My friend Zach was at MSU for the 1st semester and then transferred to Michigan for engineering 2nd semester. He has visited MSU since then, and he says that although he doesn’t mind Michigan and there are some pros to going to UofM, he kind-of regrets transferring and misses quite a few things about MSU.</p>
<p>Is Zach holding his own at UofM? What are his pros that he lists, and why does he regret transferring? That would be a good thing to know. Thanks.</p>
<p>I would choose UofM, just because their engineering department trumps MSU’s. Also, UofM is a world class education, while MSU is just in the top 100 US schools.</p>
<p>“UofM is a world class education, while MSU is just in the top 100 US schools.”</p>
<p>Interesting, on your account, that one classification doesn’t extend to the other. </p>
<p>Look, I have a great deal of friends (and, as of next fall, a girlfriend as well) who attend Michigan engineering, and a cadre of friends and acquaintances who attend MSU, both inside and outside the honors college. If it were just between MSU engineering/Lyman and UMich engineering, then that would throw all the weight towards the latter institution. No question. However, MSU honors college is a highly renowned entity not only in the midwest, but around the country. </p>
<p>Case-in-point: look at the students attending the University of Michigan’s very, very highly ranked, renowned mathematics PhD program.
How many attended said university as undergraduates? One of the most impressive graduate students there attended MSU honors, and has a wealth of credentials which exceed many of those of her peers. </p>
<p>I am not saying that you ought to stay. I am just saying that it isn’t an easy decision, and you have to consider that–despite the fact that you are at the top of your class at MSU honors–you might not do as well alongside UMich engineering students; the competitiveness among and within the student body there is unreal. Top of your class at MSU honors is far more impressive than somewhere-in-the-middle at UMich engineering. </p>
<p>Best of luck, though it doesn’t seem that you will need it. Cheers.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to transfer, I spent some time at the campus and very much enjoyed it. Since I missed the transfer applicant deadline for Fall '10 I’m going to be at MSU one more semester. You’ve been good to me MSU, but on to other things!</p>